Lord Roland the Mad

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Roland the Mad (aka Ron Arnold) was born Roland Aronach in 1533, the third son of minor nobility whose estate was along the Rhine River . Being the third son, his parents were bringing him up to join the Roman Catholic Church, but Roland had other ideas. When he was a young man he was caught up in what he considered the glamor of the mercenary regiments that regularly rolled through the country side where he lived. When he was seventeen years old Roland told his parents that he was going to become a mercenary and make his own fortune. His parents were not pleased. His mother said he was"Mad to do such a thing" and his father told him that if he left he would be disowned. Roland never used the Aronach name again.
Roland became a mercenary. He fought both on the winning and losing sides of battles but he survived and more importantly he learned. A couple of years of fighting later Roland joined up with a bunch of mercenaries know as the Dark Horde(a story in of itself to be sure). It was while with them that he hooked up with a brother mercenary known as Bastian de la Mesa who had acquired (and later misplaced) a ship know as the Sea Rapier. While sailing as a privateer they happened to make port in Florance Italy. There he ran across a gentleman Doctor who paid Roland to back his claims for a "miraculous elixir" that cured several ailments. After being paid, the two of them went off to get drunk. Roland never forgot the good Doctor, and a couple years later when he heard the words "arrest that charlatan" along with the name of "McKee" intervened on the doctors behalf.
In the sumer of 1564 Roland sailed to the port of LaHava in France. There Bastian neglected to pay attention to what he did with the Sea Rapier and it disappeared from Roland's (and every one elses) life. Needing to make his way, Roland soon found out the lay of the land. France was in turmoil. The protestant Huguenots were causing strife with the Christians. The ruling Cardinal was in need of a private army to be secure in his position in the area. Due to Roland's military background, he was made a captain in the Cardinals personal guard force. It was during this time that Roland ran into Doctor Jock McKee and prevented his arrest.
In the early spring of 1567 Pope Pius V was visiting France to determine the state of affairs in the military disorder of the Huguenots. In rout the popes personal guards took ill from food poisoning. Roland and his troop were given over to be at the Popes service. Roland advised the Pope of a few things. The Pope, impressed by Roland's directness and discretion raised Roland to a"Dignitary of the Church" to look into the "Protestant Problem" and so, Roland became a (lesser) Legate Cardinal, ironically surpassing his parents wildest expectations for him. Having a secure position for life, and some free time. Roland decided to improve his skills and thus once again linked up with Jock McKee and became a member of the School of Tyranny. He is proud to be one of the good doctor's Capo's.